Organisers Say ‘Nup to the Cup’ Events Becoming More & More Popular On Melbourne Cup Day

The 164th annual Melbourne Cup, a day where Australians gather either at the track in Melbourne or at pubs to watch 24 horses barrel their way down a racetrack, was held today.

But while Knight’s Choice was named today’s winner by a nose, none of the 24 horses are truly a winner. In fact, while the jockeys and the trainers win prize money that collectively equals to over 8 million AUD, the horses will most likely meet tragic fates during or after the races. 

From August 1 last year to August 1 this year, 151 racehorses have been euthanised. 

The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR), a non-profit organisation that advocates for the banning of the cruel sport, publishes an annual “Death Watch” with the names, dates, and causes of death for each individual horse. 

The CPR states in their 2023-2024 report that the number of deaths is likely much higher than what is reported. There are loopholes within the death reports that allow the racing organisations to state that euthanasia happened not due to the race but afterwards of “natural causes”.

The annual Nup to the Cup events from Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses

The CPR hosts an annual Say Nup to the Cup event outside the racetrack to protest the animal cruelty of the event. 

Founder and leader of CPR, Elio Celotto, said they began in 2008 with just 30 people, standing outside the track in the rain. 

In the years since, they have become a larger organisation that hosts multi-city events on Melbourne Cup day in order to encourage others to not support the event and instead do something as a community. 

This year, around 90,000 people attended Melbourne’s Flemington racecourse to watch Knight’s Choice beat the odds. 

But Celetto says that interest in the event is definitely waning; that the demographic at the event is noticeably older, and that when he and other protestors stand at the Cup with placards showing the not-so-glamorous side of horse racing, people pay more attention now. 

“We do notice quite a few people looking at our placards and listening to what we have to say with a look of concern,” says Celotto. “[People say] ‘Thanks, you guys ruined our day but we’re glad you did’”.

Celotto says more and more people are choosing not to attend the Cup itself, and numbers of people attending Nup to the Cup events is increasing, where people can “have a good time without being partial to the cruelty”. 

Celotto also says CPR has seen “much more traction” with Nup to the Cup on social media. “The more the awareness rises, the more objection there is to horse racing.”

Senator Mehreen Faruqi calls for end of Melbourne Cup and horse racing 

This Melbourne Cup Day, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Animal Welfare Senator Mehreen Faruqi called for an end to Australian horse racing. 

Faruqi’s call-to-arms on the Greens’ website states that over 1,400 horses have died on racetracks in the past decade—an average of one every 2.4 days, and there has been a 22.5 percent decline in the commercial television audience for the Melbourne Cup between 2013  to 2023.

“More and more people are saying ‘Nup to the Cup’ every year and fewer and fewer people are watching it. The only reason this carnival of cruelty goes on is because gambling companies make a windfall and they bankroll the two major parties into silence,” said Faruqi. “The Melbourne Cup epitomises the farce of the horse racing industry in a single day: a shameful cocktail of animal cruelty, gambling harm, corporate profits and dirty donations.

“It’s time to end this grotesque festival of animal cruelty fuelled by gambling and alcohol. Let’s put the Melbourne Cup in the dustbin of history where it belongs. 

“We must shut down horse racing once and for all, ban gambling ads and end dirty donations from gambling companies.”